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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
This year, I resolved to read more books by Indian authors as I don't do it much. I'm so glad that I picked up this book because it is a hidden gem. It's poignantly rich and despairing writing left a mark on me.
Set in the rural area of post-colonial South India, "Nectar in a Sieve" is a story about Rukhmani, an old woman who reminiscences about her life. At the age of 12, she gets married to a tenant farmer. We follow her journey as she struggles to eke out a living on land amid threats of droughts, heavy monsoon, and starvation.
To say this book was beautiful would be an understatement. In the beginning, the writing has a childlike innocence and wonder as Rukhmani begins her new life. But as her life gets tough, it gets subdued by a melancholy voice that is trying its best to survive but is helpless against the odds.
This book accurately captures the essence of a farmer's life, showing the trials and tribulations they face while living from hand to mouth and sometimes starving till the next season. It also shows the patriarchal traditions still alive like child marriage, dowry, desire for sons. I don't think much has changed since then in that regard.
There's another character, a white doctor who helps these people but constantly chides them for being submissive. But we see that those who fight back suffer and lose what they already had. It shows the powerlessness of the poor against the rich. When one has limited means, the only thought that takes precedence is how to survive and we see this by the way the characters bend in the circumstances.
All in all, this is a must-read novel.
P.S. If you read this edition, please don't read the intro because it gives away a lot of spoilers!
P.P.S. I joined bookstagram just a few months ago so I'd really appreciate it if you checked it out! :D
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Set in the rural area of post-colonial South India, "Nectar in a Sieve" is a story about Rukhmani, an old woman who reminiscences about her life. At the age of 12, she gets married to a tenant farmer. We follow her journey as she struggles to eke out a living on land amid threats of droughts, heavy monsoon, and starvation.
To say this book was beautiful would be an understatement. In the beginning, the writing has a childlike innocence and wonder as Rukhmani begins her new life. But as her life gets tough, it gets subdued by a melancholy voice that is trying its best to survive but is helpless against the odds.
This book accurately captures the essence of a farmer's life, showing the trials and tribulations they face while living from hand to mouth and sometimes starving till the next season. It also shows the patriarchal traditions still alive like child marriage, dowry, desire for sons. I don't think much has changed since then in that regard.
There's another character, a white doctor who helps these people but constantly chides them for being submissive. But we see that those who fight back suffer and lose what they already had. It shows the powerlessness of the poor against the rich. When one has limited means, the only thought that takes precedence is how to survive and we see this by the way the characters bend in the circumstances.
All in all, this is a must-read novel.
P.S. If you read this edition, please don't read the intro because it gives away a lot of spoilers!
P.P.S. I joined bookstagram just a few months ago so I'd really appreciate it if you checked it out! :D
So depressing. Sometimes I love depressing books, but this time I was more angry than moved. For the first two thirds, it seemed like a great book, but it just kept getting worse and worse. Maybe that was the point? Horrible sadness?
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Lovely descriptive passages, Rukmani is a very believable protagonist and it's heartbreaking to accompany her on her life's journey.
A hauntingly beautiful story about one woman's struggle to survive extreme poverty in rural India, as it industrializes. Both a fascinating look at third world poverty in a changing country, and a touching story about a woman as she goes from childhood to cronehood, this is one of my favorite books of all time.
Memories of visit our family's ancestral villages came flooding back when I read this book. Although this takes place decades before my visit, not much seemed to have changed. I wonder how advanced things have become now. Depictions of harsh realities make for somber reading but I got a kick out of some lines: "With the license of age she did not listen..." I can't wait to get that license!
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
Nectar in a sieve isn't a story but collection of memories of days past and present. Set in a village in southern India, this is story of a woman and the hardships she faces with her family when the country is in the brink of industrialization and stepping out of decades of colonialism. Markandaya times the novel in this time of change in a community that solely thrives on outcome of monsoon season. The dichotomy isn't played to its strength with narration never taking into the contrasting nature of the changing society as it plays to the protagonists disadvantage, for she loses her sons to the cities' alluring charms.
The conflict that this novel tries to work around is a recurring theme in Indian literature of this age. The divide between rural and urban was vast and it is still evident in today's wealth and infrastructure divide. There is a slight resistance by the protagonist's family against urbanization and in retrospect, it wasn't unwarranted. The society as a whole fails these rural communities that has no infrastructure to fall back on as they rely completely on a successful monsoon. And when that fails, the immediate outcome is poverty, displacement and eventual dissolution of self in the throngs of many. This is exactly what happens to the protagonist and her family as well. It has been more than seventy years since this novel came out yet the stories seem fresh as the struggles of the farmers are real and still relevant. Markandaya exposes the culture of child marriage, dowry, zamindari system (leasing land for farming) and lack of education in poverty stricken areas.
Its been more than seventy years since this novel came out but the story is still fresh and relevant to this day and age. Markandaya's prose is a treat to read and the grief that accompanies it is genuine.
The conflict that this novel tries to work around is a recurring theme in Indian literature of this age. The divide between rural and urban was vast and it is still evident in today's wealth and infrastructure divide. There is a slight resistance by the protagonist's family against urbanization and in retrospect, it wasn't unwarranted. The society as a whole fails these rural communities that has no infrastructure to fall back on as they rely completely on a successful monsoon. And when that fails, the immediate outcome is poverty, displacement and eventual dissolution of self in the throngs of many. This is exactly what happens to the protagonist and her family as well. It has been more than seventy years since this novel came out yet the stories seem fresh as the struggles of the farmers are real and still relevant. Markandaya exposes the culture of child marriage, dowry, zamindari system (leasing land for farming) and lack of education in poverty stricken areas.
Its been more than seventy years since this novel came out but the story is still fresh and relevant to this day and age. Markandaya's prose is a treat to read and the grief that accompanies it is genuine.
** Books 233 - 2017 **
This books to accomplish Tsundoku Books Challenge 2017
3,3 of 5 stars!
It is really hard when i just sitting and read this pieces about how painful the Rukmani's life. She is having arranged marriage in twelve years old with Nathan. She only have an daughter named Ira and with the doctor help she can have six son but not everyone can help their father in farming. Their land is being taken away from them and they are starving almost death.
This is really painful story to read with >__
This books to accomplish Tsundoku Books Challenge 2017
3,3 of 5 stars!
It is really hard when i just sitting and read this pieces about how painful the Rukmani's life. She is having arranged marriage in twelve years old with Nathan. She only have an daughter named Ira and with the doctor help she can have six son but not everyone can help their father in farming. Their land is being taken away from them and they are starving almost death.
This is really painful story to read with >__
This story is so sad. It starts out with some sorrow, but mostly hope for a new life. At first everything goes well, then trial after trial inflicts itself upon the main character and her family. I've only ever read one other book with so much sorrow and bad luck. That was the last book of Little House on the Prairie.
Update: I recently reread this book and loved it so much more than I did the first time. It is beautifully written and poignantly expresses the experience of an Indian woman from her marriage at the age of 12 until nearly the end of her life. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Indian culture and the Indian experience, as well as for anyone with a love for talented writing.
Update: I recently reread this book and loved it so much more than I did the first time. It is beautifully written and poignantly expresses the experience of an Indian woman from her marriage at the age of 12 until nearly the end of her life. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Indian culture and the Indian experience, as well as for anyone with a love for talented writing.